UAE sells 100,000 tonnes sugar to Pakistan

Dubai, June 4, 2009

The UAE's Al Khaleej Sugar has sold 100,000 tonnes of white sugar to Pakistan this month, an Al Khaleej company executive said on Thursday.

'This month we sold 100,000 tonnes of white sugar to Pakistan, this deal was with the government,' Sabri Aweira, the general manager of the Dubai-based refinery told Reuters. He declined to give price details.

Al Khaleej, one of the world's largest sugar refineries, last month sold 50,000 tonnes of white sugar to the country for $494.40 a tonne, traders in Pakistan said.

Pakistan was expected to buy up to 600,000 metric tonnes of sugar this year as the subcontinent ramps up imports of the sweetener to keep down prices and avoid dipping into stocks.

Pakistan has already imported about 175,000 tonnes, over a quarter of the expected imports. Pakistan's latest sugar crop has fallen on the year to 3.2 million tonnes from 4.7 million tonnes.

Aweira added that the company has already signed deals with private white sugar traders in Pakistan, but again declined to disclose the quantities sold to them.

Al Khaleej is expected to boost sales this year by about 9 per cent, he said. The global economic recession had little impact on sales volumes, he added.

'Our business has not been affected by the economic crisis, because people like sweet things,' he said. 'Overall I think this year we will sell around 1.2 million tonnes of white sugar worldwide, compared to around 1.1 million last year.'

Al Khaleej also exports to North Africa, Europe, Iraq and Iran, Aweira said.

The company sold about 100,000 tonnes to the domestic market in the United Arab Emirates.-Reuters